Apple Limiting Employee Travel to China Amid Coronavirus Outbreak, Working to Avoid Supply Shortages

During today's earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook commented on the coronavirus outbreak in China, which investors fear could potentially impact Apple's business, affecting production of both current iPhones and the new low-cost iPhone that's on the horizon.

Cook said that Apple is donating to China to help with the outbreak and working with partner companies.

iphone11prolineup

We're donating to groups that are working to contain the outbreak. We're working closely with our Apple team members in the affected areas, and our thoughts are with all of those in the region.

In an interview with CNBC, Cook confirmed that employee travel has been restricted to "business critical travel" only as of last week, and employees in Wuhan and across China are receiving care kits from Apple.

"We're restricting travel to business critical travel. For employees that are in the Wuhan area, we are providing care kits and supplying them across our employee population in China as well.

Cook said that Apple's decision to set next quarter guidance with a range of $4 billion is reflective of the coronavirus outbreak and the "uncertainty around that." Apple's guidance for Q2 2020 is $63 to $67 billion, a larger range than normal.

The situation is still emerging, said Cook, and Apple is monitoring the situation closely and gathering data points.

According to Cook, supplier factories in wider China are opening late after Chinese New Year, on February 10, which Apple is working to manage. Apple does have suppliers in the Wuhan area, but all of these suppliers have alternate suppliers, and Apple is working to ensure good supplies. Apple has accounted for the delayed startup with its larger range of outcomes.

In its retail stores, Apple is limiting hours, checking employees, and sanitizing its stores regularly. One store has also been shut down for the time being. Apple's retail sales have slowed due to virus concerns, but this is accounted for in Apple's guidance numbers for Q2 2020.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
iphone 16 pro models 1

Here's How the iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 17 Pro

Saturday July 5, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year. As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch displayGiven the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple m5

Apple's Upcoming Macs Listed in New Report

Thursday July 3, 2025 9:09 am PDT by
AppleInsider's Marko Zivkovic today shared a list of alleged identifiers for future Mac models, which should roll out over the next year or so. The report does not reveal anything too surprising, but it does serve as further evidence that Apple is seemingly working on new models of every Mac, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. Apple is...

Top Rated Comments

MacInDawg Avatar
71 months ago
I have the right to delete.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
konqerror Avatar
71 months ago

Just remember...

The flu infected 42 million and killed 62,000 in 2019. The coronavirus has infected 9000 and killed 81 people...

Media: CORONAVIRUSSSSSS!!!!!!!
The flu kills a lot more people than Ebola. Therefore, we should not care about Ebola and stop any quarantine or vaccine research?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacInDawg Avatar
71 months ago
I have the right to delete.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BootsWalking Avatar
71 months ago

Just remember...

The flu infected 42 million and killed 62,000 in 2019. The coronavirus has infected 9000 and killed 81 people...

Media: CORONAVIRUSSSSSS!!!!!!!
There was a time when the Black Plague had only killed 81 people. I wonder if someone stood up then and said "but the flu kills a lot more people!" And no, I'm not saying the current virus is anywhere as deadly as the plague, although Corona viruses mutate rapidly and MERS had a near 35% mortality rate.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pweicks Avatar
71 months ago
Just remember...

The flu infected 42 million and killed 62,000 in 2019. The coronavirus has infected 9000 and killed 81 people...

Media: CORONAVIRUSSSSSS!!!!!!!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Tech198 Avatar
71 months ago
"We're restricting travel to business critical travel. For employees that are in the Wuhan area, we are providing care kits and supplying them across our employee population in China as well."

Good idea, since no one can get people out, due to lock-down, which is always the right thing to do anyway.

I'm still kinda impressed "Australia is OK" because symptoms don't show up always either on first attempt.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)